Fourth porn actor tests HIV-positive, AIDS healthcare group says

AIDS Healthcare Foundation members protest about a half a block from the XBiz Awards at the Palladium in Los Angeles in 2011.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation members protest about a half a block from the XBiz Awards at the Palladium in Los Angeles in 2011. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Abby Sewell

In the midst of an ongoing moratorium on shooting in the adult film industry, an advocacy group said a fourth performer has come forward as HIV-positive.

The Free Speech Coalition, an adult industry trade group, called a filming moratorium Friday — the second in a month — after a performer tested positive for HIV. The group called a weeklong moratorium last month after actress Cameron Bay tested HIV-positive.

A second performer, Rod Daily, who is romantically linked to Bay, came forward on Twitter and told the Los Angeles Daily News that he too had tested positive — but that case was not officially reported to the industry group and did not result in a new moratorium. Friday's call to stop shooting came after a third performer tested positive and was reported to the Free Speech Coalition by an industry-affiliated doctor.

Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation — a group that backed a voter-approved mandate to use condoms in filming in Los Angeles County last year and is now pushing for a statewide requirement — said a fourth adult film performer contacted his group in the last week.

"We were approached by a male performer who told us he had tested positive," Weinstein said, but he would not give any further details. He said he did not know if that case had been contracted while filming, but added that he thought "parsing" that question missed the point.

"Whether or not [Bay] was infected on set, she performed with HIV between her tests," he said. "If you think that Russian roulette is a great way to protect workers, then the present system is perfect."

Joanne Cachapero, a spokeswoman with the Free Speech Coalition, said the group had not received confirmation of the fourth case. The shooting moratorium is ongoing. The trade group said the performer whose positive test prompted the current moratorium had not worked on a film since before the first moratorium was issued Aug. 21.

The industry required performers whose last STD test was prior to Aug. 19 to take a re-test, and said it was considering shortening the frequency of required STD tests for performers from 28 to 14 days, but so far has not announced a decision.